Atlantic Council blogs

NATO Summit in Lisbon Helps Obama

By Jackie Calmes and Peter Baker, the New York Times

Children safer in Afghan cities than NYC: NATO envoy

By Jonathon Burch, Reuters

From Jonathon Burch, Reuters:  Children are probably safer growing up in Afghanistan’s major cities, including the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, than in London, New York, or Glasgow, NATO’s top civilian envoy to Afghanistan has said.

Taliban vows to force NATO out before 2014 pullout

By Patrick Quinnby, the AP

From Patrick Quinnby, the AP:  The Taliban on Sunday vowed to force the U.S.-led coalition to abandon Afghanistan before a 2014 date set by the alliance for handing over security responsibility to its allied Afghan forces. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in message e-mailed to the media that NATO will be unable to establish a […]

The Czech Republic: What NATO means for us

NATO has released new videos on YouTube providing national perspectives on the Alliance.

Russia to aid NATO on anti-missile network in Europe

By Edward Cody, the Washington Post

From Edward Cody, the Washington Post:  Russia agreed Saturday to cooperate with NATO on building a U.S.-planned anti-missile network in Europe as part of what was described as a new era in security relations between the former Cold War enemies.

NATO Allies Appeal for U.S. to Ratify Start Treaty

By Adam Entous, the Wall Street Journal

From Adam Entous, the Wall Street Journal:  Six North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies made a coordinated appeal Saturday to the U.S. Senate to quickly approve President Barack Obama‘s nuclear-arms-control treaty with Russia, warning Republican opposition was putting European security at risk.

NATO’s Lisbon Summit: All the Right Words

By James Joyner

NATO’s Lisbon Summit exceeded all reasonable expectations.  Yet it leaves critical questions about the Alliance unanswered. Once upon a time, the meeting was supposed to launch a new NATO, building on the experience in Afghanistan and forging a path for the decade to come.  But the combination of disillusionment with that mission and the devastating […]

Obama’s Withdrawal Strategy

By Barack Obama, the White House

From Barack Obama, the White House:  [T]oday we stand united in Afghanistan, so that terrorists who threaten us all have no safe haven and so that the Afghan people can forge a more hopeful future.

The Lisbon Summit: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Ian Brzezinski

Good:  The new Strategic Concept is a good document. It uses firm language to reassert the centrality of NATO’s Article 5 security commitment, affirm the Alliance’s role in guarding against today’s wide array of multi-dimensional threats, and formalize NATO’s roles in crisis management and prevention.

NATO Summit Reaction, Day 2

By Damon Wilson

On the second day of the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Allied leaders approved the Lisbon Declaration, providing an action plan to implement the Strategic Concept in the months ahead and agreed to reconvene in the United States in 2012. They also met with President Karzai and NATO’s partners in Afghanistan to endorse a strategy to […]